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Series Companion
Sermon Series: Warning Signs

Series Companion for Warning Signs

If you have ever taken a road trip, you know how helpful signs can be. They can keep you on the right track, help you avoid unintended detours, and caution you against costly mistakes. A trip without signs could be incredibly chaotic and confusing! Perhaps even dangerous. So when Jesus invites his followers to join him on a road to new life- a path that ultimately leads to the cross- he offers them a lot of warnings along the way. Warnings which he hoped they- and we- will listen to in order to avoid the many pitfalls along this road to life. This Lent, you are invited to join us as we reflect on Jesus’s journey to the cross and consider how these signs can bring about new, full life in us if we follow them.

Resource Overview

  • Within this sermon series companion, you will find space each week for notes on the sermon and Scripture text, reflection questions, and prompts to discuss your reflections with others. When considering the reflection questions, the goal is not to answer everything or have all the “right” answers―instead, let these questions serve as a starting point for curiosity in your conversation with God and others. See the Appendix of this guide for more resources and opportunities to engage with this study.

    • LISTEN: Link to the sermon (20 min)
    • REFLECT: Read Scripture & Selection from “Mark for Everyone” and answer questions (20 min)
    • RELATE: Discuss questions with your small group in person or online (60 min)
    • PRAY: Close your time by praying for each other. The prayer prompt at the end of each study guide chapter can also be used.
    • Week 1: Mark 8:27-35, Commentary Pages 106 -112, Study Guide Pages 45-49, Questions 7-12
    • Week 2: Mark 9:42-50, Commentary Pages 125- 129 Study Guide Pages 54-57, Questions 11-13
    • Week 3: Mark 10:17-31, Commentary Pages 133-137, Study Guide Pages 58-62, Questions 8-13
    • Week 4: Mark 10:32-52, Commentary Pages 137-145, Study Guide Pages 63-67, Questions 1-11
    • Week 5: Mark 12:1-12, Commentary Pages 157- 160, Study Guide Pages 73-74, Questions 1-3
    • Week 6: Mark 12:28-34, Commentary Pages 169- 172, Study Guide Pages 74-77, Questions 9-10, 13
    • Week 7: Mark 16:1-8, Commentary Pages 221-224, Study Guide Pages 99-102, Questions 1-10

  • We hope that all small group discussions are lively and enriching, but sometimes tough topics will be discussed. The Conversation Covenant* is an agreement to hold respect and grace toward all participants within a small group, no matter the conversation. Please adhere to the Conversation Covenant, or think about how to create one that fits your context.

    I pledge:

    • To act in good faith, with curiosity. I will assume the best about my conversation partners when entering into our groups. I will give the benefit of the doubt, recognizing that they may know something I don’t.
    • To show respect. I will show respect. I will be polite and give due regard for the feelings and traditions of others. I understand that I do not have to agree with someone to show them respect.
    • To speak the truth. I won’t use rhetorical tricks to try to win an argument. I will speak what I genuinely believe is the nuanced truth.
    • To aim to discover the truth. I will not enter into a conversation with the purpose of changing the mind of anyone to my way of thinking.
    • To focus on what we can change. I will focus on what we can do differently in the future since we cannot change what we did in the past.
    • To take responsibility for the conversation. I will take responsibility for the quality of the conversation and the abidance of the rules both in principle and in spirit.
    • To follow the covenant even when others fail to do so. I will abide by the rules regardless of whether another person breaks them.
    • To lighten up and approach the conversation in good humor. I recognize that humor is a hallmark of a constructive, generative conversation and take the conversation in good humor.

    *Adapted from https://conversational-leadership.net/conversation-covenant/

Appendix

Below are a few resources to look into if you are interested in diving deeper into some of the topics covered in this series. If you need resources that more specifically address your own experience, demographic, or faith journey, please reach out to a Highrock pastor or to smallgroups@highrock.org and we will be happy to help!

    • What was a small win from your week?
    • Share a High/Low from your day or week.On a scale of 1-10, how are you doing coming into this meeting?
    • If you were to describe yourself as a weather forecast today, what would you be? Example: sunny, partly cloudy, rainy with a chance of snow, etc.
    • What song would be the theme track for the day you had?
    • Allow everyone space to share. It’s ok to ask what people are thinking even if they don’t volunteer to share right away. But always give people the option to decline to share. Example: “Hey, Fred, you’ve been a little quiet and I’m curious to know what you think. Would you like to share anything?”
    • Remember there aren’t necessarily “right” answers. Encourage participants to simply be curious about what came up for them or others without the pressure of feeling like they “should” have thought or felt anything in particular. Example: Instead of asking “what is this story supposed to be communicating?” ask “what did you notice?”
    • Embrace the differences. Affirm that different people can come to different conclusions regarding the same thing. Example: “It is really interesting that the text reminded Susie of ABC, while it reminded José of XYZ. Both can be present and true.”
    • Adapt to suit your group’s needs. Sometimes conversation is free-flowing and sometimes it’s easier to move through discussion questions one at a time. Do what feels right for your group, but don’t feel pressured to answer/discuss every single question.
    • Encourage curiosity by modeling curiosity! Asking someone “Tell me more about XYZ” can be a really simple but effective tool to go deeper in conversation.
    • Don’t be afraid of silence. It’s natural to want to fill silences or pauses in a conversation. But don’t be afraid to sit in silence with your group members. Sometimes thoughts just need time to percolate, so don’t feel like you have to rush to another question if no one shares immediately.
    • Refer back to the Conversation Covenant. This is the posture that we as Highrock hold as we gather in groups. When the conversation gets tough, you can always refer back to the Conversation Covenant to remind the group that everyone has agreed to abide by this covenant in small group meetings

Weekly Readings & Discussion Questions

  • The Language of Lent

    Familiarize yourself with the language and meaning of the holy days leading up to Easter.

    • Lent – a season in the Christian calendar leading up to Easter that remembers the events preceding Jesus’s death on the cross and resurrection. This season invites reflection on the ways that we, as a group and as individuals, have not loved God and others in a way that reflects God’s love. Through reflection, individually and corporately, we seek wisdom to leave old patterns behind as we follow the resurrected Christ.
    • Ash Wednesday – a day of reflection, prayer, and repentance that marks the beginning of Lent; often commemorated with fasting and receiving ashes on one’s forehead as a reminder of our mortality and our need for God.
    • Palm Sunday – a day to remember and celebrate Jesus’s arrival in Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion/resurrection; the first day of Holy Week
    • Maundy Thursday – (also Holy Thursday) the Thursday before Easter that commemorates Jesus’s washing of the disciples’ feet and the Last Supper
    • Good Friday – The Friday before Easter that solemnly remembers Jesus’s crucifixion and death
    • Easter Sunday – (also Resurrection Sunday) a day to remember and celebrate Jesus’s resurrection from the dead and new life over death for all

    Suggestions For Individual Study from N.T. Wright

    This discussion guide is based on N.T. Wright’s Study Guide and Commentary on Mark. Here is the author in his own words:

    “Read and reread the Bible passage to be studied. Each study is designed to help you consider the meaning of the passage in its context. The commentary and questions in this guide are based on my own translation of each passage found in the companion volume to this guide in the For Everyone series on the New Testament (published by SPCK and Westminster John Knox).

    Each session features selected comments from the For Everyone series. These notes provide further biblical and cultural background and contextual information. They are designed not to answer the questions for you but to help you along as you study the Bible for yourself.”

  • Listen

    Find sermons on Highrock Online’s YouTube channel.

    Reflect

    Before your small group gathering, complete the following. This will be the basis for your small group discussion time.

    • Listen to Sermon
    • Read Scripture (see Scripture section below)
    • Read Commentary Pages 106-112
    • Complete Study Guide Pages 45-49, Questions 7-12

    Relate

    Use these questions as a launching point for your small group conversation. Open with a check-in/getting-to-know-you question. Group opener options are available in the Appendix.

    1. What connections do you make between the sermon and the study guide material?
    2. Discuss the Study Guide questions for this week.
    3. Was there anything God was getting your attention about in the sermon, the Scripture passage, or the commentary? Anything that is making you ask new questions?
    4. Is there an action step you would like the group to hold you accountable to?

    Pray

    Close in prayer for what came up during your conversation and for the week ahead.

    Scripture

    Mark 8:27-35

  • Listen

    Find sermons on Highrock Online’s YouTube channel.

    Reflect

    Before your small group gathering, complete the following. This will be the basis for your small group discussion time.

    • Listen to Sermon
    • Read Scripture (see Scripture section below)
    • Read Commentary Pages 125-129
    • Complete Study Guide Pages 54-57, Questions 11-13

    Relate

    Use these questions as a launching point for your small group conversation. Open with a check-in/getting-to-know-you question. Group opener options are available in the Appendix.

    1. What connections do you make between the sermon and the study guide material?
    3. Discuss the Study Guide questions for this week.Was there anything God was getting your attention about in the sermon, the Scripture passage, or the Commentary? Anything that is making you ask new questions?
    4. Is there an action step you would like the group to hold you accountable to?

    Pray

    Close in prayer for what came up during your conversation and for the week ahead.

    Scripture

    Mark 9:42-50

  • Reflect

    Before your small group gathering, complete the following and reflect on the discussion questions. These will be the basis for your small group time.

    Relate

    Use these questions as a launching point for your small group conversation. Open with a check-in/getting-to-know-you question. Group opener options are available in the Appendix.

    1. What from the sermon or reading has brought up new questions? Spend some time as a group sharing and discussing these questions.
    2. When you feel lost or afraid, what feels trustworthy to you? What feels untrustworthy? When you are lost or afraid, how might someone gain your trust?
    3. Consider one of your own “dark valley” experiences. Does/did God feel trustworthy? Why or why not? Share honestly about what makes/made you feel that way.
    4. There is an implication in this text that there will be dark valleys to go through. What do you make of the reality that God doesn’t keep us only in “green pastures”? Discuss what it means for God to be accompanying you in the “dark valleys”. What comfort is offered there?
    5. What is a next step you could take in how you pray, act, or relate to others?

    Pray

    Pray about what came up in your conversation and for the week ahead.

    Scripture

    Psalm 23: 3b-4

    “He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
    Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
    I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.”

  • Reflect

    Before your small group gathering, complete the following and reflect on the discussion questions. These will be the basis for your small group time.

    Relate

    Use these questions as a launching point for your small group conversation. Open with a check-in/getting-to-know-you question. Group opener options are available in the Appendix.

    1. What from the sermon or reading has brought up new questions? Spend some time as a group sharing and discussing these questions.
    2. Thinking in historical terms, what would the Psalmist’s declarations about God in these verses have meant to them?
    3. What kind of provision is the Psalmist focusing on here? What needs are they saying God meets?
    4. Together imagine the scene being set here. What senses, feelings, sights, etc. come to mind? Discuss what you notice through imagining and why that might be important.
    5. What is a next step you could take in how you pray, act, or relate to others?

    Pray

    Pray about what came up in your conversation and for the week ahead.

    Scripture

    Psalm 23:5

    “You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
    You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows

  • Reflect

    Before your small group gathering, complete the following and reflect on the discussion questions. These will be the basis for your small group time.

    Relate

    Use these questions as a launching point for your small group conversation. Open with a check-in/getting-to-know-you question. Group opener options are available in the Appendix.

    1. What from the sermon or reading has brought up new questions? Spend some time as a group sharing and discussing these questions.
    2. Psalms traditionally close with a notion of hope remembering God’s faithfulness and promise. Discuss these closing lines and what they convey to you.
    3. During Jesus’ public ministry he often preached that the Kingdom of Heaven has come to earth (Matthew 10:1-8). With that in mind, what does it mean that love  follows us all the days of our lives and we dont need to wait to dwell with God now?
    4. What do you think this Psalm meant to those who would routinely sing it in exile while suffering and waiting? What might it mean to you today? The closing hope of the Psalm helps orient us to God’s faithfulness to us, God’s beloved creation.
    5. When have you experienced a refreshing of your soul?
    6. What is a next step you could take in how you pray, act, or relate to others?

    Pray

    Pray about what came up in your conversation and for the week ahead.

    Scripture

    Psalm 23:6

    “Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
    and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    Forever.”